View source for John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh

{{Short description|British physicist (1842–1919)}}
{{Redirect|Lord Rayleigh|other members|Baron Rayleigh}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| honorific_prefix  = {{Pre-nominal styles|RHPC|size=100%}}
| name              = The Lord Rayleigh
| honorific_suffix  = {{Post-nominals|country=GBR|OM|PC|FRS|size=100%}}
| image             = John William Strutt.jpg
| caption           = Rayleigh in 1904
| title             = [[List of chancellors of the University of Cambridge|Chancellor of the University of Cambridge]]
| term_start        = 1908
| term_end          = 1919
| predecessor       = [[Spencer Cavendish, 8th Duke of Devonshire]]
| successor         = [[Arthur Balfour, 1st Earl of Balfour]]
| order2            = 39th
| office2           = President of the Royal Society
| term_start2       = 1905
| term_end2         = 1908
| predecessor2      = [[Sir William Huggins]]
| successor2        = [[Sir Archibald Geikie]]
| birth_name        = John William Strutt
| birth_date        = {{Birth date|1842|11|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place       = [[Maldon]], [[England]], [[UKGBI]]
| death_date        = {{Death date and age|1919|06|30|1842|11|12|df=yes}}
| death_place       = [[Witham]], England, UKGBI
| module={{Infobox person|embed=yes
| education         = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Eton College]]
* [[Harrow School]]}}
| alma_mater        = [[Trinity College, Cambridge]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]], [[Master of Arts|MA]])
| known_for         = {{Indented plainlist|
* Discovery of [[argon]]
* [[Angular resolution#The Rayleigh criterion|Rayleigh criterion]]
* [[Rayleigh distribution]]
* [[Rayleigh's equation (fluid dynamics)|Rayleigh's equation]]
* [[Rayleigh flow]]
* [[Rayleigh law]]
* [[Rayleigh length]]
* [[Rayleigh number]]
* [[Rayleigh problem]]
* [[Rayleigh scattering]]
* [[Rayleigh wave]]s
* [[Rayleigh–Gans approximation]]
* [[Rayleigh–Bénard convection]]
* [[Rayleigh–Plesset equation]]
* [[Rayleigh–Taylor instability]]
* [[Rayleigh–Jeans law]]}}
| spouse            = {{Marriage|Evelyn Balfour|1871}}
| children          = 3, including [[Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh|Robert]]
| family            = [[Balfour (surname)|Balfour]] (by marriage)
| awards            = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Royal Medal]] (1882)
* [[De Morgan Medal]] (1890)
* [[Matteucci Medal]] (1894)
* [[Faraday Lectureship Prize]] (1895)
* [[Copley Medal]] (1899)
* {{Nowrap|[[Nobel Prize in Physics]] (1904)}}
* [[RSA Albert Medal]] (1905)
* [[Elliott Cresson Medal]] (1913)
* [[Rumford Medal]] (1914)}}
| module={{Infobox scientist|embed=yes
| fields            = {{Flat list|
* [[Acoustics]]
* [[fluid dynamics]]
* [[optics]]}}
| work_institutions = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[University of Cambridge]]
* [[Royal Institution]]}}
| academic_advisors = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[James Clerk Maxwell]]<ref name=MGP>{{Cite web|title=John Strutt|url=https://www.genealogy.math.ndsu.nodak.edu/id.php?id=101979|work=[[Mathematics Genealogy Project]]|publisher=North Dakota State University|access-date=2025-05-30}}</ref>
* [[Edward Routh]]<ref name=MGP/>
* [[Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet|George Stokes]]<ref name=MGP/>}}
| notable_students  = {{Indented plainlist|
* [[Jagadish Bose]]<ref name=MGP/>
* [[J. J. Thomson]]<ref name=MGP/>}}
| signature         = Autograph of Rayleigh.png
}}
}}
}}

'''John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|r|eɪ|l|i}} {{Respell|RAY|lee}};<ref>{{Cite dictionary|title=Rayleigh|url=https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rayleigh|url-status=live|dictionary=[[Dictionary.com]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425090652/https://www.dictionary.com/browse/rayleigh|archive-date=2024-04-25|access-date=2025-05-30}}</ref> 12 November 1842 – 30 June 1919), was a British [[physicist]] and [[hereditary peer]] who received the [[Nobel Prize in Physics]] in 1904 for his discovery of [[argon]].<ref name=Nobel1904>{{cite web|title=The Nobel Prize in Physics 1904|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1904/summary/|url-status=live|publisher=[[Nobel Foundation]]| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081017213253/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/1904/index.html|archive-date=2008-10-17|access-date=2008-10-09}}</ref>

Rayleigh provided the first theoretical treatment of the elastic scattering of light by particles much smaller than the light's wavelength, a phenomenon now known as [[Rayleigh scattering]], which notably explains why the sky is blue. He studied and described transverse [[surface wave]]s in solids, now known as [[Rayleigh wave]]s. He contributed extensively to [[fluid dynamics]], with concepts such as the [[Rayleigh number]] (a [[dimensionless number]] associated with [[natural convection]]), [[Rayleigh flow]], the [[Rayleigh–Taylor instability]], and Rayleigh's criterion for the stability of [[Taylor–Couette flow]].

Rayleigh also formulated the circulation theory of [[Lift (force)|aerodynamic lift]]. In [[optics]], he proposed a well-known criterion for [[angular resolution]]. His derivation of the [[Rayleigh–Jeans law]] for classical [[black-body radiation]] later played an important role in the birth of [[quantum mechanics]] (see [[ultraviolet catastrophe]]). His textbook, ''The Theory of Sound'' (1877), is still used today by [[acoustician]]s and engineers. He introduced the [[Rayleigh test]] for circular non-uniformity, which the [[Raleigh plot|Rayleigh plot]] visualises.

Rayleigh served as President of the [[Royal Society]] from 1905 to 1908, and as Chancellor of the [[University of Cambridge]] from 1908 until his death in 1919.

== Biography ==
John William Strutt was born on 12 November 1842 at Langford Grove, Maypole Road in [[Maldon]], England,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1111044?section=official-list-entry | title=LANGFORD GROVE, Langford - 1111044 &#124; Historic England }}</ref> the son of John James Strutt, 2nd Baron Rayleigh, and Clara Elizabeth La Touche. In his early years, he suffered from frailty and poor health.<ref>{{cite journal |journal=The Popular Science Monthly |title=Sketch of Lord Rayleigh |pages=840 ''ff'' |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fiwDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA840 |date=October 1884 |volume=25 |issue=46 |publisher=Bonnier Corporation}}</ref>

Strutt attended [[Eton College]] and [[Harrow School]] (each for only a short period), before entering [[Trinity College, Cambridge]], in 1861, where he studied mathematics. In 1865, he received his [[B.A.]] ([[Senior Wrangler]] and [[Smith's Prize]]man), and was elected a Fellow of Trinity College the following year. He obtained an [[M.A.]] in 1868.<ref>
{{acad
 |id=STRT861JW
 |name=Strutt, the Hon. John William
}}</ref>

In 1871, Strutt resigned from his fellowship to marry Evelyn Balfour, the daughter of [[James Maitland Balfour]], with whom he had three sons. In 1873, on the death of his father, he inherited the [[Baron Rayleigh|Barony of Rayleigh]].<ref name=prixnobel>{{Cite web|title=Lord Rayleigh – Biographical|url=https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1904/strutt/biographical/|url-status=live|publisher=[[The Nobel Foundation]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250827091858/https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/1904/strutt/biographical/|archive-date=2025-08-27|access-date=2010-05-05}}</ref>

In 1879, Rayleigh was appointed [[Cavendish Professor of Physics]] at the [[University of Cambridge]]. In 1883, he first described [[dynamic soaring]] by seabirds in ''[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]''.<ref name=soaring>{{cite journal|author-last=RAYLEIGH|author-link=John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh|title=The soaring of birds|journal=[[Nature (journal)|Nature]]|year=1883|volume=27|issue=701|pages=534–535|doi=10.1038/027534a0|bibcode=1883Natur..27..534R|s2cid=45898842|doi-access=free}}</ref> The following year, he resigned as Cavendish Professor to continue his experimental work at [[Terling Place]].<ref name=prixnobel/>

From 1887 to 1905, Rayleigh was Professor of Natural Philosophy at the [[Royal Institution]]. During this period, he carefully and precisely measured [[atomic mass]] of oxygen and hydrogen, and by 1892 he moved on to [[nitrogen]]. By isolating nitrogen in different ways he discovered a small but significant difference, which indicated a heavier inert gas present in the air besides nitrogen. [[William Ramsay]] joined this research topic, and in August 1894 they discovered [[argon]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Kirkup |first1=L. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fi3AwDdzg8cC&pg=PA5 |title=An Introduction to Uncertainty in Measurement: Using the GUM (Guide to the Expression of Uncertainty in Measurement) |last2=Frenkel |first2=R. B. |date=2006-06-01 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-45490-2 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Spanos |first=Aris |date=2010 |title=The Discovery of Argon: A Case for Learning from Data?* |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/652961 |journal=Philosophy of Science |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=359–380 |doi=10.1086/652961 |jstor=10.1086/652961 |issn=0031-8248|hdl=2022/26117 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> In 1904, Rayleigh and Ramsay were awarded the Nobel Prizes in [[Nobel Prize in Physics|Physics]] and [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Chemistry]], respectively; both for research related to the discovery of argon.

Around 1900, Rayleigh developed the ''duplex'' (combination of two) theory of human sound localisation using two [[binaural beats|binaural cues]], [[interaural time difference|interaural phase difference]] (IPD) and [[interaural level difference]] (ILD) (based on analysis of a spherical head with no external [[Pinna (anatomy)|pinnae]]). The theory posits that we use two primary cues for sound lateralisation, using the difference in the phases of [[Sine wave|sinusoid]]al components of the sound and the difference in amplitude (level) between the two ears.

[[File:Lord Rayleigh Vanity Fair 21 December 1899.jpg|thumb|160px|Caricature of Lord Rayleigh in the London magazine ''[[Vanity Fair (British magazine)|Vanity Fair]]'', 1899]]

Rayleigh received the degree of ''Doctor mathematicae ([[honoris causa]])'' from the [[Royal Frederick University]] on 6 September 1902, when they celebrated the centennial of the birth of mathematician [[Niels Abel]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=Foreign degrees for British men of Science |date=8 September 1902 |page=4 |issue=36867}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uio.no/om/tall-og-fakta/aresdoktorer/tidligere-aresdoktorer/1902-1910/ |title=Honorary doctorates from the University of Oslo 1902–1910}} ''(in Norwegian)''</ref>

From 1905 to 1908, Rayleigh  served as [[President of the Royal Society]]. From time to time, he participated in the [[House of Lords]]; however, he spoke up only if politics attempted to become involved in science.<ref name=prixnobel/>

During the [[First World War]], Rayleigh was President of the  [[Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]], which was located at the [[National Physical Laboratory (United Kingdom)|National Physical Laboratory]] and chaired by [[Richard Glazebrook]].<ref>{{Cite book| publisher=Constable and company Limited |last=Lanchester |first=Frederick William |author-link= Frederick W. Lanchester |title=Aircraft in Warfare |location= London |year=1916 |page=[https://archive.org/details/aircraftinwarfa00lancgoog/page/n211 163]|title-link=:s:Aircraft in Warfare (1916) }}</ref>

In 1919, Rayleigh served as President of the [[Society for Psychical Research]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Past Presidents|url=http://www.spr.ac.uk/page/past-presidents-parapsychology|publisher=Society for Psychical Research|access-date=19 November 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150223112644/http://www.spr.ac.uk/page/past-presidents-parapsychology|archive-date=23 February 2015|df=dmy-all}}</ref> As an advocate that simplicity and theory be part of the scientific method, he argued for the [[principle of similitude]].

Rayleigh died on 30 June 1919 in [[Witham]] at the age of 76,<ref name=prixnobel/> and was buried in the graveyard of All Saints' Church in [[Terling]].<ref>{{cite web |title=John Strutt, Lord Rayleigh |url=https://www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-commemorations/commemorations/john-strutt-lord-rayleigh |website=Westminster Abbey |access-date=7 May 2019 |language=en}}</ref> His son [[Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh|Robert]], a physicist, succeeded him as Baron Rayleigh.

== Religious views ==
Rayleigh was an [[Anglican]]. Though he did not write about the [[relationship between science and religion]], he retained a personal interest in spiritual matters.<ref>Peter J. Bowler (2014). ''Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain'', University of Chicago Press. p. 35</ref> When his scientific papers were to be published in a collection by the [[Cambridge University Press]], Strutt wanted to include a quotation from the [[Bible]], but he was discouraged from doing so, as he later reported:

{{Blockquote|When I was bringing out my ''Scientific Papers'' I proposed a motto from the [[Psalms]], ''"The Works of the Lord are great, sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."'' The Secretary to the Press suggested with many apologies that the reader might suppose that I was the Lord.<ref>Robert John Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1924). ''John William Strutt: Third Baron Rayleigh, O.M., F.R.S., Sometime President of the Royal Society and Chancellor of the University of Cambridge'', E. Arnold & Company, p. 307</ref><ref>Lord Rayleigh (Robert John Strutt), John William Strutt Baron Rayleigh (1964). "An Appraisal of Rayleigh", Air Force Cambridge Research Laboratories, Office of Aerospace Research, U.S. Air Force. p. 1150.</ref>}}

Still, he had his wish and the quotation was printed in the five-volume collection of scientific papers. In a letter to a family member, he wrote about his rejection of [[materialism]] and spoke of [[Jesus Christ]] as a moral teacher:

{{Blockquote|I have never thought the materialist view possible, and I look to a power beyond what we see, and to a life in which we may at least hope to take part. What is more, I think that Christ and indeed other spiritually gifted men see further and truer than I do, and I wish to follow them as far as I can.|Rayleigh (1910)<ref>Melba Phillips (1992), ''The Life and Times of Modern Physics: History of Physics II''. American Institute of Physics. p. 50</ref><ref>As quoted in R. J. Strutt. John William Strutt. p. 361. in ''Reconciling Science and Religion: The Debate in Early-Twentieth-Century Britain'', by Peter J. Bowler (2014). p. 35</ref><ref>Sir William Gavin (1967). ''Ninety Years of Family Farming: The Story of Lord Rayleigh's and Strutt & Parker Farms''. Hutchinson, p. 37</ref>}}

Rayleigh held an interest in [[parapsychology]] and was an early member of the [[Society for Psychical Research]] (SPR). He was not convinced of [[Spiritualism (beliefs)|spiritualism]] but remained open to the possibility of [[supernatural]] phenomena.<ref>DeYoung, Ursula. (2011). ''A Vision of Modern Science: John Tyndall and the Role of the Scientist in Victorian Culture''. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 178. {{ISBN|978-0-230-11053-3}}</ref> Rayleigh was the president of the SPR in 1919. He gave a presidential address in the year of his death but did not come to any definite conclusions.<ref>[[Renee Haynes|Haynes, Renee]]. (1982). ''The Society for Psychical Research 1882–1982: A History''. London: MacDonald & Co. p. 198. {{ISBN|978-0-356-07875-5}}</ref><ref>Lindsay, Robert Bruce. (1970). ''Men of Physics Lord Rayleigh–The Man and His Work''. Pergamon Press. pp. 227–242. {{ISBN|978-1-4831-1435-4}}</ref>

== Recognition ==
=== Memberships ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Country
! Year
! Institute
! Type
! {{Reference column heading}}
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1873
| [[Royal Society]]
| [[Fellow of the Royal Society|Fellow]]
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Search past Fellows|url=https://catalogues.royalsociety.org/CalmView/Record.aspx?src=CalmView.Persons&id=NA6090&pos=2|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|United States|1877}}
| 1886
| [[American Philosophical Society]]
| International Member
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=John+Strutt&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|publisher=[[American Philosophical Society]]|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>
|}

=== Awards ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Country
! Year
! Institute
! Award
! Citation
! {{Reference column heading}}
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1882
| [[Royal Society]]
| [[Royal Medal]]
| "For his various papers in mathematical and experimental physics"
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Royal Medal|url=https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/royal-medals/|url-status=live|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150925080312/https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/royal-medal/|archive-date=2015-09-25|access-date=2014-08-07}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1890
| [[London Mathematical Society]]
| [[De Morgan Medal]]
|
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Winners of the De Morgan Medal of the LMS|url=https://mathshistory.st-andrews.ac.uk/Honours/LMSDeMorganMedal/|work=[[MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive]]|publisher=University of St Andrews|access-date=2024-01-29}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|Kingdom of Italy}} [[Kingdom of Italy|Italy]]
| 1894
| [[Accademia dei XL]]
| [[Matteucci Medal]]
|
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Medals|url=https://www.accademiaxl.it/en/activities/medals/|publisher=[[Accademia dei XL]]|access-date=2025-11-04}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1895
| [[Royal Society of Chemistry]]
| [[Faraday Lectureship Prize]]
|
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Faraday Lectureship Prize - previous winners|url=http://www.rsc.org/ScienceAndTechnology/Awards/FaradayLectureshipPrize/PreviousWinners.asp|url-status=dead|publisher=[[Royal Society of Chemistry]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241108220123/https://www.rsc.org/prizes-funding/prizes/find-a-prize/faraday-division-open-award-faraday-lectureship-prize/previous-winners/|archive-date=2024-11-08|access-date=2010-03-05}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1899
| [[Royal Society]]
| [[Copley Medal]]
| "In recognition of his contributions to physical science"
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Copley Medal|url=https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/copley-medal/|url-status=live|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150906190948/https://royalsociety.org/grants-schemes-awards/awards/copley-medal/|archive-date=2015-09-06|access-date=2016-10-19}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|Sweden|1844}}
| 1904
| [[Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences]]
| [[Nobel Prize in Physics]]
| "For his investigations of the densities of the most important gases, and for his discovery of argon in connection with these studies"
| <ref name=Nobel1904/>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1905
| [[Royal Society of Arts]]
| [[RSA Albert Medal]]
|
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=The Albert Medal| publisher=[[Royal Society of Arts]]|url=http://www.thersa.org/about-us/history-and-archive/medals/albert-medal |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608193010/http://www.thersa.org/about-us/history-and-archive/medals/albert-medal|archive-date=2011-06-08|access-date=2011-03-09}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flag|United States|1912}}
| 1913
| [[Franklin Institute]]
| [[Elliott Cresson Medal]]
| "For extended researches in physical science"
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=John Rayleigh|url=https://fi.edu/en/awards/laureates/john-rayleigh|url-status=live|publisher=[[Franklin Institute]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250409093844/https://fi.edu/en/awards/laureates/john-rayleigh|archive-date=2025-04-09|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1914
| [[Royal Society]]
| [[Rumford Medal]]
| "On the grounds of his investigations in thermodynamics and on radiation"
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=Rumford Medal|url=https://royalsociety.org/medals-and-prizes/rumford-medal/|publisher=[[Royal Society]]|access-date=2024-06-19}}</ref>
|}

=== Chivalric orders ===
{| class="wikitable"
! Country
! Year
! Monarch
! Order
! {{Reference column heading}}
|-
| {{Flagdeco|United Kingdom}} [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]]
| 1902
| [[Edward VII]]
| [[Order of Merit]]
| <ref>{{London Gazette|issue=27470|date=1902-09-02|page=5679}}</ref>
|-
| {{Flagdeco|German Empire}} [[German Empire|Germany]]
| 1903
| [[Wilhelm II]]
| [[Pour le Mérite]]
| <ref>{{Cite web|title=John William Strutt|url=https://www.orden-pourlemerite.de/mitglieder/john-william-strutt-lord-rayleigh|website=www.orden-pourlemerite.de|language=de|access-date=2025-12-01}}</ref>
|}

== Commemorations ==
[[Rayleigh (lunar crater)|A lunar crater]], as well as [[Rayleigh (Martian crater)|a Martian crater]], are named in his honour.<ref>{{GPN|4966|name=Lunar crater Rayleigh}}</ref><ref>{{GPN|4967|name=Martian crater Rayleigh}}</ref> The asteroid [[22740 Rayleigh]] was named after him on 1 June 2007.<ref>
{{cite web
 | author=JPL
 | title=JPL Small-Body Database Browser: 22740 Rayleigh (1998 SX146)
 | url=http://ssd.jpl.nasa.gov/sbdb.cgi?sstr=22740
 | publisher=NASA
 | year=2008
 | access-date=23 July 2008
| author-link=Jet Propulsion Laboratory
 }}</ref> The [[rayl]], a unit of [[specific acoustic impedance]], is also named for him. 

Sir [[William Ramsay]], his co-worker in the investigation to discover argon, described Rayleigh as "the greatest man alive" while speaking to Lady Ramsay during his last illness.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Ninety Years of Family Farming|last=Gavin|first=Sir William|publisher=Hutchinson of London|year=1967|pages=24}}</ref>

[[Henry Hyndman|H. M. Hyndman]] said of Rayleigh that "no man ever showed less consciousness of great genius".<ref name=":0" />

In honour of Lord Rayleigh, the [[Institute of Acoustics (United Kingdom)|Institute of Acoustics]] sponsors the [[Rayleigh Medal]] (established in 1970) and the [[Institute of Physics]] sponsors the [[John William Strutt, Lord Rayleigh Medal and Prize]] (established in 2008).

Many of the papers that he wrote on [[lubrication]]<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Rayleigh|first=Lord|date=1918|title=I. Notes on the theory of lubrication|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14786440108635730|journal=The London, Edinburgh, and Dublin Philosophical Magazine and Journal of Science|language=en|volume=35|issue=205|pages=1–12|doi=10.1080/14786440108635730|via=}}</ref> are now recognized as early classical contributions to the field of [[tribology]]. For these contributions, he was named as one of the 23 "Men of Tribology" by [[Duncan Dowson]].<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Dowson|first=Duncan|date=1979-01-01|title=Men of Tribology: John William Strutt (Lord Rayleigh) (1842–1919) and Beauchamp Tower (1845–1904)|url=https://asmedigitalcollection.asme.org/tribology/article/101/1/1/430997/Men-of-Tribology-John-William-Strutt-Lord-Rayleigh|journal=Journal of Lubrication Technology|language=en|volume=101|issue=1|pages=1–7|doi=10.1115/1.3453272|issn=0022-2305|doi-access=free}}</ref>

There is a memorial to him by [[Derwent Wood]] in St Andrew's Chapel at [[Westminster Abbey]].<ref>''The Abbey Scientists'', Hall, A. R. p. 59: London; Roger & Robert Nicholson; 1966</ref>

== Publications ==
[[File:Rayleigh, John William Strutt – Theory of sound, 1894 – BEIC 6738003.jpg|thumb|''Theory of sound'', 1894]]
* ''[https://archive.org/details/theorysound00raylgoog The Theory of Sound vol. I]'' (London : Macmillan, 1877, 1894) (alternative link: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k951307 Bibliothèque Nationale de France] OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-108-03220-9}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/theorysound05raylgoog The Theory of Sound vol.II]'' (London : Macmillan, 1878, 1896) (alternative link: [http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k95131k Bibliothèque Nationale de France]) OR (Cambridge: University Press, reissued 2011, {{ISBN|978-1-108-03221-6}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpaper01raylgoog Scientific papers (Vol. 1: 1869–1881)]''<ref name=papers>{{cite journal |title=Review of ''Scientific Papers'' by John William Strutt, Baron Rayleigh, Vols. I–IV|journal=The Athenaeum |issue=3937 |date=April 11, 1903|pages=469|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKA5AQAAIAAJ&pg=PA469}}</ref> (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70396-6}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers02rayliala Scientific papers (Vol. 2: 1881–1887)]''<ref name=papers/> (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70397-3}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers03rayliala Scientific papers (Vol. 3: 1887–1892)]''<ref name=papers/> (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70398-0}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers04rayliala Scientific papers (Vol. 4: 1892–1901)]''<ref name=papers/> (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70399-7}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers05rayliala Scientific papers (Vol. 5: 1902–1910)]'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70400-0}})
* ''[https://archive.org/details/scientificpapers06rayliala Scientific papers (Vol. 6: 1911–1919)]'' (Cambridge : University Press, 1899–1920, reissued by the publisher 2011, {{ISBN|978-0-511-70401-7}})

== See also ==
{{div col|content=
*[[Acoustic levitation]]
*[[Acoustic radiation pressure]]
*[[Aeolian harp]]
*[[Breath-figure self-assembly]]
*[[Calibrated airspeed]]
*[[Capillary breakup rheometry]]
*[[Clark cell]]
*[[Dawes' limit]]
*[[Extremal principles in non-equilibrium thermodynamics]]
*[[Eigenvalue perturbation]]
*[[Group velocity]]
*[[Hanle effect]]
*[[Helmholtz minimum dissipation theorem]]
*[[Laminar–turbulent transition]]
*[[Langmuir–Blodgett trough]]
*[[List of presidents of the Royal Society]]
*[[Machmeter]]
*[[Moffatt eddies]]
*[[Multiple scattering theory]]
*[[Parametric oscillator]]
*[[Short-time Fourier transform#Rayleigh frequency|Rayleigh frequency]]
*[[Fresnel diffraction#The Fresnel approximation|Rayleigh–Sommerfeld diffraction theory]]
*[[Rayleigh mixture distribution]]
*[[Bandwidth (signal processing)#Overview|Rayleigh bandwidth (signal processing)]]
*[[Rayleigh quotient iteration]]
*[[Rayleigh's quotient in vibrations analysis]]
*[[Rayleigh sky model]]
*[[Representative layer theory]]
*[[Talbot effect]]
*[[Thermoacoustics]]
*[[Thermoacoustic heat engine]]
*[[Virial theorem]]
*[[Waveguide (acoustics)]]
*[[Waveguide (radio frequency)]]
*[[WKB approximation]]}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* ''Life of John William Strutt: Third Baron Rayleigh, O.M., F.R.S.'', (1924) Longmans, Green & Co.
:: A biography written by his son, [[Robert Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh]]

== External links ==
{{Commons|John William Strutt}}
{{Wikiquote|John Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh}}
{{wikisource|works=or}}
*[http://www.nobel-winners.com/Physics/john_william_strutt.html About John William Strutt]
*{{MacTutor Biography|id=Rayleigh}}
*[https://archive.today/20130411013600/https://googledrive.com/host/0B-UggpdTDpJEQVlHcUtSOUZ6eGM/GECReviewv7n3p167.htm Lord Rayleigh – the Last of the Great Victorian Polymaths, GEC Review, Volume 7, No. 3, 1992]
*{{Internet Archive author |sname=John William Strutt, 3rd Baron Rayleigh}}
*{{Nobelprize|name=Lord Rayleigh}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Royal Society|President of the Royal Society]]|order=39th|years=1905–1908}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Cavendish Professor of Physics|Cavendish Professor of Experimental Physics]], [[University of Cambridge]]|years=1879–1884}}
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{{s-reg|uk}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Baron Rayleigh]]|years=1873–1919}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Robert John Strutt, 4th Baron Rayleigh|Robert Strutt]]}}
{{s-end}}

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{{Acoustics}}
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